1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording and reproducing apparatus, which records video signals on an optical disc using a VR (Video Recording) format and reproduces the optical disc in which the video signals are recorded in the VR format.
2. Description of the Related Art
In DVD players, which are widely used in recent years, a compression technique based on MPEG2 is used for compression of video signals. The video compression technique based on the MPEG2 standard is also used for a VR format, which is a standard of DVD recorders, which allow users to record analog video signals in a digitized manner. As such, in the VR format allowing the users to record the video signals in the digitized manner, the recorded video signals are managed either by an original program chain or a user-defined program chain (play list). That is, in the original program chain, each of the recorded video signals, which have been continuous at the time of recording, is managed as a program. On the other hand, in the user-defined program chain, video signals, which have been continuous at the time of recording, are arbitrarily divided into blocks, that is, cells, and a group of the cells that is randomly ordered by a user is managed as a program chain. In addition, the character string (text information), which is represented with data in the range of 64 bytes or less, can be recorded in any format of a program in the original program chain, a program chain in the user-defined program chain, and a DVD (hereinafter referred to as a first related art).
In addition, a technique of extending the VR format has been proposed as follows (hereinafter referred to as a second related art). That is, in this technique, it is disclosed that ‘an exclusive function not in the range of functions defined as the above standard works only at a driver (information recording and reproducing apparatus) of a specific manufacturer, and when information relating to the exclusive function is recorded on the information recording medium (optical disc 1001), the information can be recorded in a recording area of specific information 2002, which only the specific manufacturer can use. Further, the specific information 2002 that only the specific manufacturer can use is recorded on a different region on the information recording medium (optical disc 1001) from a recording region of the common information 2001 based on the standard. Among information that can be reproduced only by the driver (information recording and reproducing apparatus) of the specific manufacturer, contents-related information such as video information, still picture information, voice information is defined as specific object information 2008 reproduced only by the specific manufacturer. Information necessary for managing and controlling the specific object information (specific contents information) 2008 that can be used only by the specific manufacturer is defined as management and control information 2006 that can be used only by the specific manufacturer’ (for example, refer to JP-A-2002-140865, [0193] and FIG. 12).
In addition, another technique is disclosed hereinafter (referred to as a third related art). In this technique, it is disclosed that ‘a data structure (format structure) is provided, which allows video information, still picture information and/or voice information to be recorded together on the same information medium, and allows any region among the video information, the still picture information, and the voice information to be reproduced in an arbitrary order, so that cells #2, #3, and #6 are defined, which designates a reproduction range from a start position to an end position with respect to each of audio VOB (AOB) #A to #C in the similar way to the video information within the conventional RTR standard (movie VOB31 of FIG. 1 (N))’. And the voice information (audio VOB #A to #C) is taken as the completely same column as cell #1 indicating the reproduction range from a start position to an end position of the video information (movie VOB31) or as cell #4 indicating the reproduction range from a start position to an end position of the still picture information (still picture VOB21) (See JP-A-2002-157861, [0004] and [0022]).
However, the first related art has the following problems. That is, when an explanatory text is added to a program of an original program chain or a program chain of a user-defined program chain in order to easily recognize the contents of recorded information after the video information is recorded, text information must be prepared with data in the range of 64 bytes or less. Accordingly, when the character string to be added to the program or the program chain includes Chinese characters, the text information should be made with only thirty two characters, thereby it is difficult to facilitate the recognition of the program or the program chain with the character string. In addition, in the case of cells, the explanatory text cannot be added, thereby it is impossible to explain the contents of the recorded information in detail.
The second related art just discloses a structure of information recording, which allows information recording only when a driver (information recording and reproducing apparatus) of the specific manufacturer carries out its exclusive function not in the range of the function defined by the standard, thereby it is difficult to apply the second related art to solve the problems of the first related art, that is, it is difficult to facilitate the recognition of the contents of the program or the program chain, and it is impossible to add the explanatory text to the cell.
In addition, the third related art just discloses the data structure (format structure), which allows video information, still picture information and/or voice information to be recorded together on the same information medium, and allows any region among video information, still picture information and voice information to be reproduced in an arbitrary order. Accordingly, it is difficult to apply the second related art to solve the problem of the first related art, that is, it is difficult to facilitate the recognition of the contents of the program or the program chain, and it is impossible that add the explanatory text to the cell.
The present invention has been originated to overcome the above-described problems, and an advantage of the present invention is to provide a recording and reproducing apparatus, which allows text information indicating contents of cells to be recorded, and removes the limitation in the number of characters of the character string for representing the recorded contents of the optical disc, programs, recorded contents of the program chain, or recorded contents of the cells, and suppresses the complexity of the extension information, and allows the optical disc in which the extension information is recorded to be used in an apparatus having no extension information, and reproduces a program readily from a target position.
Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a recording and reproducing apparatus, which generates extension information including character string information, which represents text information input by a user, and correspondence information, which represents an object corresponded to the character string, and records the extension information on an optical disc, and remove the upper limit of the number of characters of the character string, and corresponds a program and a cell in an original program chain and a program chain and a cell in a user-defined program chain included in the object to the character string in the correspondence information so that the character string representing the contents of the cell can be recorded and the limit of the number of the characters of the character string for representing recorded contents of the cell or recorded contents of the program or the program chain can be removed.
In addition to the above-described advantages, still another advantage of the present invention is to provide a recording and reproducing apparatus, which configures information for making the character string corresponded to the object with first information representing the number of the program in the original program chain or the number of the program chain in the user-defined program chain and second information representing the number of the cell, and makes the character string corresponded to the corresponding program or the program chain when the second information represents zero so that the complexity can be suppressed by making unnecessary the information for determining whether the corresponding object is any one among the program, the program chain or the cell.
In addition to the above-described advantages, a further advantage of the present invention is to provide a recording and reproducing apparatus, which allows an area where the extension information is recorded to be represented as an empty area in volume/file structure information, which represents the usage state of the data area, so that the optical disc where the extension information is recorded can also be used in an apparatus which does not use the extension information.
In addition to the above-described advantages, a still further advantage of the present invention is to provide a recording and reproducing apparatus, which can facilitate reproduction from a target position.